


a night we'll never forget

by Rebel_Captain



Series: Independent Love Song [1]
Category: Derry Girls (TV)
Genre: AKA this is the episode that made me even more of a diehard Jerin, F/M, James/Erin are dorks and they are in LOVE, Michelle/Clare will be a thing so help me god, Orla is ace imo, my first time writing for Derry Girls so I hope it's okay!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-04 07:59:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18339461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rebel_Captain/pseuds/Rebel_Captain
Summary: In which Michelle fears for her life, Erin and James dance, and feelings arise.a continuation of season 2x05.





	a night we'll never forget

**Author's Note:**

> I've been a diehard Erin/James stan since season 1, 2x05? Killed me and revived me. My Jerin ass is THRIVING. PS here's a shameless plug of a Jerin playlist I made https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3iIr9crpXQFz4cSaA69u32

Erin tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, grimacing at the tacky feel left behind on her fingers. Well, prom had been an utter disaster. As evidenced by: the Carrie reenactment that led to Jenny, Aisling, Erin and Michelle brawling with each other. Until James had stepped in to pull Erin off of Jenny, and Clare rushed on stage to try and yank Michelle off of Aisling. 

The three had went to the bathroom, trying to clean the tomato juice or sauce, _whatever_ , off of themselves. James mourned the loss of his costume, while Michelle fretted about how "my ma is totally going to kill me for fuckin' this dress up".

Erin left them to it, sitting down on the stairs by the bathroom. She'd rinsed off the tomato juice from her skin, and from her hair, but her dress would have to be cleaned at home. She didn't want to make it worse and face the wrath of _her_ own mother.

Erin blew out a sigh, stretching out her legs and adjusting the skirt of her dress. This wasn't the prom night she'd expected at all.

* * *

 

"Well, I'm completely fucked." growled Michelle, for what seemed to be the fifth time. "Ma's going to fuckin' kill me. Jesus christ, we should've just left Jenny to it. The tomatoes might have done somethin' for her complexion." 

James sent her a withering look, still scrubbing tomato juice out of his hair. "You know we couldn't, Michelle." he pointed out, grimacing when a chunk of tomato landed in the sink from his hair.

"Fuckin' disgustin'." she muttered, shaking her head at him. "And the hell we couldn't. Might've shut her brown nosing arse up for a second." she squeezed out her hair, shuddering at the amount of red still coming from it. "Fuck me this is well horrendous."

James straightened up, looking at himself in the mirror. Good enough, he supposed. Though his stupid hair was frizzy looking. "I'll be outside. I'm gonna see where Erin went-"

"It was nice of you to take her, by the way." she interrupted, in one of her rare kind moments. Around him, anyway. "Even if it did make her look desperate." she added on, in some attempt to regain her 'I don't give a fuck' nature.

"Thanks." he replies, rolling his eyes. "Her mum phoned and asked, so I-"

"Came running to her rescue?"

"Well, I took a taxi there and then we took one here so... y'know." he mumbled, shifting on his feet. The way Michelle was looking at him made him feel ridiculously on the spot. _Am I sweating? I feel like I'm sweating_.

"Oh fuck me!" she shrieked, pointing at him. "You fancy Erin! Jesus christ, you wanna shag her." she slowly started shaking her head, as if unable to comprehend James having genuine feelings for anyone.

"Michelle!" he hissed, cheeks darkening.

"Holy fuck you're not denying it."

"Why should I?" he asked, scowling. "Just because I want to-"

"It's fuckin' creepy that's why! If you say anything involving the word love in regards to shaggin', I _will_  throw up on your shoes." she threatened, scowling at him.

"I was going to say sex, Michelle. Sex!" she hissed, covering her ears with her hands as if James had just spat the most vile insult at her. "Anyway, that's not all I'm interested in! I don't just like Erin because I want to have sex with her, Michelle." he huffed, scowling back at her. "Why am I even talking about this with you?" he stressed, running his hands through his hair.

"Fuck if I know. Now get out of the girl's bathroom, fuckin' perve." she huffed, reaching behind her for the zip of her dress. James quickly left the bathroom after that, stuffing his hands in his pockets and searching for Erin.

* * *

 

It only took him two minutes to find her.

"Do you want some mustard?" he spoke up, and she shot him a confused look. _Mustard? What? What the fuck was that? Fucking hell this is pathetic._ "Because... because it goes with tomato sauce... like on hot dogs and..." he trailed off, voice cracking.

Erin stared at him, her brows furrowed and nose scrunched up in a way he found most adorable. _How was she still so cute when her hair looked stringy and her dress was stained red?_ Then, ever so slowly, she started to smile. "I'm good, thanks. I'm more of a burger girl anyway." 

Well, at least she played along.

"I'll keep that in mind," he smiled, walking closer before sitting down beside her on the stairs. "I'm sorry this wasn't the night you'd expected." he said quietly, resting his hands on his knees. 

"I don't think it was the night most of us expected, to be fair." she sighed, glancing at him. "And it's not your fault, James. In fact I..." she turned to face him, her knees touching his thigh. He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. "I should be thanking you. You... you gave up your Doctor Who convention for... well, to get Carrie'd." 

James gave her a smile. "You didn't call it a creep convention." he said softly, and Erin pursed her lips for a moment, looking past his shoulder, before back into his eyes.

"Well, it can't be _too_ bad if you like it. And you're most certainly not a creep so..." she ducked her head down, falling silent.

"That's... nice of you to say."

"I'm nice, James." she scoffed, and he arched a brow.

"When the moment suits you." he teased, and she rolled her eyes, but smiled. "And you're more important to me than some convention, Erin." he added after a moment, and her eyes shot up to look at him, almost comically wide. "I mean- you're all more important to me than a convention. Well, it depends with Michelle but... yeah." he cleared his throat, shifting a little on the step.

Erin fell quiet, seeming to think about something. James shifted again, stomach churning with... nerves? A few minutes of silence went by; Erin silently staring at James in thought, and James fidgeting while trying to think of what to say.

Abruptly, he stood up, smoothing down his damp suit and taking off his scarf to set it down. "Most people dance at prom," he said, biting his lip, before smiling at her and offering his hand. "I think you of all people deserve at least one dance. So... Erin, may I have this dance?" he asked, raising his brows and trying not to let too much hope creep into his tone.

Erin looked up at him, blinking once, then twice. Then she _smiled,_ taking his hand. "It'd be an honour, James." she beamed, earning a beam back from James. He lead her down the stairs, trying his best not to think about how soft her hand was in his.

James stopped, looking down at her. Erin tucked some of her hair behind her ear, before reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck, waiting until his hands settled on her waist. The warmth of his hands radiated through the fabric of her dress, and for a brief moment, Erin wondered what his hands would be like on her bare skin.

 _Jesus where did_ that _come from?_

Slowly, the pair started to sway. It was a tad awkward at first, given that the only music they had was the faint sound from the band in the gym hall. But, after a moment, they found a movement that worked best.

Erin looked up at James, giving him a half smile. "Thanks." she said quietly, idly brushing her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

"My pleasure." he smiled, pulling her closer and resting his cheek on top of her head. Erin paused, before resting her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and breathing in. Through the faint tomato smell, she smelled his aftershave. He must've put it on for tonight ( _for her_ , a little part of her brain whispered), but she liked it. Very much. It wasn't too strong, like some of the other boys she'd come across in her life. It was so _James_ that she nearly...

What?

Nearly what?

She squeezed her eyes shut a little tighter, burying her face in his shoulder. One of his hands idly brushed up and down her back for a moment, and goosebumps rose up along Erin's skin. What the hell was going on with her? Why was... why was she so _affected_ by James? Sure, she's thought about him in a more than platonic way once or twice... but, still!

She thinks back to the wedding they'd attended, and what it felt like sitting between his legs, to have his hands brush her back accidentally every so often... _jesus what's he doing to me?_

Then, she thinks back to Katya. The nasty churning in her gut when she thought about James having sex with her, how her mind screamed at her to just stop them from having sex.

_Oh jesus christ I fancy James, don't I?_

Erin pulls her face away from his shoulder, stopping their dancing. "James..." she whispered, glancing at his lips, before looking back up to his eyes.

"Erin...?" he whispered back, looking a tad confused. Erin took a deep breath, before starting to lean up. He caught on quick, leaning down to meet her.

Their lips had barely brushed when-

"Erin!" came the call of her granda. Erin and James jumped away from each other, looking at anywhere but each other. Joe came around the corner, a twirling Orla by his side. At least someone was still having a great time.

"Erin, taxi's outside waitin' for us, love." he told her, then, he squinted at James. "I hope you weren't doin' anythin' funny with my granddaughter, boy." he barked out, and James paled, hands trembling.

"James isn't that funny though, granda." Orla said, and James shot her a look, as did Erin. 

"I..." he hesitated, looking at Erin. She shook her head. "Definitely not, sir."

Joe looked between them, before shaking his head. "Erin, c'mon, love." 

"Just a second." she said, and Joe quickly caught on, turning and walking out with Orla. "James I-" she started, stepping closer to him.

"I know, Erin." he cut in quickly, swallowing. "Heat of the moment, right?"

Erin froze, heart dropping to her stomach. _Oh_. "Right! Aye, aye, _aye_! Heat of the moment, yeah. Would never consider doing such things with you, ha..." she trailed off, wringing her hands. "Right, well, see you, James. Thanks for tonight." she patted his arm, before quickly making her way down the hallway to find Orla and their granda.

James stared after her, eyes wide. "No... no, no!" he whined, rubbing his face with his hands. "Oh my god, I'm stupid!" he exclaimed, shaking his head. With that, James ran down the hall, past a startled Michelle who yelled an 'oy, fucker!' after him. Perhaps he could catch up to her? Perhaps he could fix this before he completely ballsed it up?

* * *

"Erin!"

Erin, whose hand was on the door of the taxi, turned, and spotted James running down the school steps. "James?" she questioned, furrowing her brows. "What are you-" James skidded to a stop in front of her, but soon reached out to take her face in his hands, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. 

Erin's eyes widened and she squeaked against his mouth, before pressing herself against him, tangling her hands in his hair and kissing back eagerly. She ignored granda Joe leaning his head out of the taxi and telling them to knock it off, and that Orla was grinning rather obnoxiously at them. 

She just focused on James. James, whose lips were soft yet hard against hers. James, whose hands were gently cupping her face. James, who often told Erin to be herself.

James who had abandoned his convention to take her to prom, even though he hadn't wanted to go.

She pulled back for air, smiling up at him. Her smile was hurting her cheeks, but she didn't care. "Well, I'd consider that doin' somethin' funny." she joked, and he smiled down at her. There was a softness in his eyes, one that made Erin want to kiss him again.

"Yeah, I suppose." he smiled, leaning down and pecking her lips. "I just wanted to let you know it wasn't heat of the moment. That was completely stupid of me to say and-"

Erin leans up, cutting him off with a soft kiss. "I know, James. I... suppose this makes us more than friends, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, yeah it does." he said, glancing at the taxi. "We'll talk more about it when you're not being charged a fare."

"Thank jesus." Joe muttered, rolling his eyes.

"See you soon?" Erin mumbled, smiling at him.

He nodded, dropping his hands from her cheeks. "See you soon." he repeated, watching her get into the taxi. The pair gave each other a wave, and James watched the taxi until it disappeared into the distance.

He grinned to himself, half tempted to whoop and cheer. But, he restrained himself.

Still didn't mean he couldn't smile like a lunatic for the next few days.


End file.
